Empties and favourites - May & June

Hello there,

It only feels like 5 minutes since I last did an empties post, the year is going by far too quickly for my liking.

This time around, I've done a mixture of favourites and empties - purely because the empties were pretty much the same as before!

So to start, a couple of bits from Avon. It feels like Avon has come back into fashion over the last few years. Their skincare ranges are much improved and you can't beat their makeup and nail varnish for value and choice.

Excuse the shape of this bottle, I gave it a good old squeeze to get the last out before realising I needed to photograph it - oops. This was a yoghurt body shake moisturiser with wild berries and pomegranate. It smelt amazing, but was very very runny. Now I don't mind that normally, but this did take a while to soak in, so not much good if you're a hurry. Would I repurchase? Possibly, the scent really was gorgeous and just like a yoghurt.

A classic Avon shower gel. Now I stopped using these for a while as they left me feeling quite dry afterwards, but I was tempted by the scent of this one - Papaya and Peach. Oh my goodness, I really don't care how dry this makes me feel, it smells like a fresh fruit smoothie and the colour is so rich and summery. It's definitely a shower gel to make you feel awake in the morning.

Following on the fruit theme, this is another classic shower gel from NSPA at Asda - their apple scent. There's not much I can add to this except to say it doesn't leave my skin dry and the other half loves the apple smell too, so a win win there.

The final shower gel is from Soap and Glory and was part of their box set that comes out every Christmas. I was a bit disappointed by this (which is a first for me with S&G). It was nice, but just that. Not amazing or memorable. Even now, I can't remember how it smells. So it will be a nice to use, but not a repurchase.

It wouldn't be a favourites or empties post without a couple of shampoos as I continue my search for the perfect combination for my hair. These are my current favourites, the Argan Smooth range from Creightons (available at Tesco). Anything with oil is working well for me and these are cheap and cheerful too. One thing though I've noticed about these is the smell, which you're either going to love or hate. To me, it's slightly reminiscent of a Britney Spears perfume - so I love it!!

A bargain buy from Primark now. I don't often wear foundation but when I do, I hate that matte, flat look you can get. So when I saw this dewy look foundation for about £3 I was tempted. It even has a cute concealer in the lid with a teeny tiny mirror. It's now become my absolute favourite. I only use a little so I never aim for full coverage, but it's just enough to even out skin tone while feeling natural. A real bargain! The concealer is pretty good too.

Finally, June was my birthday month and I was pretty spoiled. These two were definitely very special and made me feel very lucky.

So that was some of my favourites and empties from the last couple of months. Hope you enjoyed this and it's given you some ideas of something new to try.

Thanks for reading

Cathy

xx

Empties post - January & February

Hello there,

I wasn't sure about doing this as I didn't think I'd have enough to talk about. But I know I love reading these sort of posts and for me personally it gives me ideas of new products to buy and if I'm undecided about something, it can often be the tipping point on whether I buy it or not.  So I collected empties for a few weeks, and here we are!

(and yes - I meant to post this earlier but the dreaded lurgy put pay to that!)

First up - and the type of product I get through the most - conditioners and shampoos.

Herbal Essenses - Hello Hydration conditioner

There's going to be a bit theme in this post, so I might as well start with it straight away - I really didn't like the smell of this at all. It wasn't a bad product at all and made my hair feel soft, but it wasn't enough of a 'wow' to make me buy it again.

Garnier Ultimate Blends conditioner - strength restorer

This was an ok product, but just that - ok and nothing more. Alarmingly, it made my hair really fluffy, which sounds nice but isn't always the look you're going for and it's not something I'd be buying again. On the plus side though, it smelt lovely.

Aussie Friss Miracle conditioner 

This was a huge disappointment for me - not only was the smell overpowering (am I the only one who doesn't like the smell of Aussie Hair products?) but it really didn't help with frizz control at all. I was finding a cheap basic conditioner was doing a better job of keeping the frizz under control.

Aussie Repair Miracle conditioner

I bought this the same time as the Frizz Miracle conditioner as there was a 2 for £7 offer in Tesco. For me, this was just an ok product and seemed better at controlling frizz than the proper frizz conditioner. At the moment, I'm thinking I wouldn't buy these conditioners again, but I just know in another 6 months or so, there'll be a special offer on and I'll be sucked in again. I still have a couple of Aussie products which I'm using with more success (3 Minute Miracle conditioner and Miracle Hair Insurance) so I'll review those on here soon.

Dove Purely Pampering body wash

I think this is the first ever Dove product I've never finished - again due the smell. I like vanilla but this was just too overpowering. On the plus side, it didn't leave my skin dry after showering.

Colgate Max White One toothpaste

This is seriously the best ever whitening toothpaste I've ever used. It gives instant results so it's not something I use regularly but instead I save it for special occasions. As it's not cheap, it does mean it lasts a lot longer. The paste itself is a grey/blue colour but don't be put off by that - it really works!

Body Shop Peppermint Reviving Leg Gel

I was in two minds whether to buy this or not as peppermint is a smell I really hate. But I'd heard so many good things about this, I took the plunge when I had a voucher code for Body Shop. Yes, it's a really really strong smell which many people will love (I had to hold my breath!) but it's amazing at reducing puffy ankles and feet, due in part to the horse chestnut that's in here. I was suffering from occasional swelling after my ankle op last year so I used this - and it worked. So much so, I even have another bottle for those bad days.

Superdrug Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser

I had heard this was a dupe for the Liz Earle range, so when it was reduced I bought a bottle. Now I have fairly dry skin and I'm in my late forties, so I wasn't sure this would be good match for me. Oh my goodness - I have to say - this is the best face wash I have ever used. I realised the other day that since using this regularly, I've had no major breakouts and I feel sure my skin looks healthier (even if I don't always feel it inside!). I've combined it with the Superdrug Brightening Moisturiser and I feel as if it's the healthiest my skin has felt for years.

NSPA Grapefruit shower and bath gel

The NSPA range (as far as I know) is exclusive to Asda. This grapefruit shower gel smelt heavenly and really helped wake me up in the morning, there's something about grapefruits that always reminds me of holidays. I haven't seen this scent for sale for a while though so I'm hoping it's not discontinued. At the moment I'm using the apple scent which is equally gorgeous.

So that's my empties for the last two months, far more than I expected. I'll try to keep collecting the empties and do another post in a couple of months.

Thanks for reading

Cathy

xx